Agile Portfolio Management

Overall Jochen's book provides a very good introduction to a topic that is rarely addressed in the agile community. Portfolio management has typically been a function that is connected directly to the executive level of an organization because its primary purpose is to link corporate strategy to the projects that are underway within the organization. Many projects will be strategic in nature, but some will not and the goal is to find the balance that makes sense for the organization. It is as much an art as it is a science. I disagree with the reviewers point on skipping the first 100 pages, because he does not set the expectation that the first section is for readers not familiar with agile software development. As Jochen, clearly states, "The first part of this book is intended for managers who would like to learn more about the benefits and motivations for agile software development." Having worked with many large organizations I can relate to the challenges associated with educating senior and executive level management on the benefits of iterative development. Senior and executive level managers should get a lot of value out of the first section, which covers at a high level, a review of agile software development, how agile ties back to project management, and a justification for the role of agile in an organization. This coverage ends on page 47, not 100. Again, it is high level which should be great for the executive. Any readers wanting a deep dive into the various topics discussed can find plenty of additional supplemental material out there. The second section introduces Portfolio Management. Here the reader will find the bulk of information on Portfolio Management. No matter what the reader's level of expertise with agile software development, they should walk away with something valuable from this section. I especially liked Chapter 6 on Return on Investment and Chapter 7 on Project Portfolio Management. Chapter 6 will give the reader an idea of how short iterations can quickly build value for the organization and in many cases, return investment dollars much sooner than projects with longer release cycles. Chapter 7 discusses what Jochen calls the "project funnel" for evaluating projects in the pipeline; as well as, the bubble diagram, which readers who are familiar with IBM's Rational Portfolio Manager might recognize. All useful tools when managing the project portfolio The third section introduces the concept of Portfolio Management using Scrum; as well as, how agile software development impacts the Project Management Organization (PMO). I think the Portfolio Management using Scrum concept is a nice attempt at tying Portfolio Management back to a familiar and popular agile framework such as Scrum. One reviewer pointed out that "It made me doubt the author has actually done this". I think the reviewer needs to understand that this is a PROPOSAL. In fact, Jochen even highlights that "These sections present the S

As an IT leader in a large financial services firm I appreciated Mr. Krebs' bringing an introduction to Agile to someone with little or no background on the subject. The book is very approachable and is built for senior managers with very little time (or need) to invest in detailed understanding of Agile. This book has given me the basis I need to understand where I need to take my organization over the next three years - chucking the old, outdated, mainframe version of software development to a methodology that can meet my business partners need to be more flexible. I highly recommend this for any IT leader who sees the needs to build a more responsive software development organization.